One of the amazing things about participating in an underground tour in Madrid is the opportunity of experiencing the city like an artsy local would do it.
You will observe a giant, open-air museum, where local and international artists share artworks & walls, talking to each other about the issues that worry the society/community where they are painting.
These are the five artists we’ll show you during our street art tour in Madrid:
- EVER
- D*Face
- Gvill3
D*Face, the awaited kiss in our underground tour.
D*Face is Dean Stockton, a Londonian born and raised artist who has obtained a lot of respect and good reputation in the global art industry.
He has recently visited our city and painted a huge vertical wall close to El Rastro, the biggest and most important flea market in Madrid. We included his wall in our underground tour.
It will take your breath away!
From an office job in London to DIY around the world.
Dean is inspired by the Do It Yourself movement and its techniques, but he is also influenced by the punk culture. At the beginning, his painted points were simple stickers with a muppet & wings on his head, but they then turned out as his unmistakable signature image.
Mr. Stockton’s current style has a strong Roy Lichtenstein vibe, with wings and Death always present. May that be his way to criticize the contradictions of a modern day society?
Ever / Siempre, the first 2020 muralist in the underground tour.
“Ever” is Nicolás Romero, an Argentinian artist who found in street art a really cool formula to bring his artworks to Wynwood, Miami and now to La Latina / Lavapiés (Madrid).
He creates abstract pieces, thinking about the body as “just a dress to use on Earth.” It’s because of that, that Romero’s portraits no longer have eyes.
It was in 2013 when he started using religious symbols obsessively in his works, even though he doesn’t believe in a traditional God.
In which part of the underground tour is his wall observed?
His new mural is observed in the last part of our walking tour in Madrid. It’s part of the 2020 edition of Urvanity, a contemporary art fair in Madrid which took place last 1st March.
The artwork was completed thanks to a project sponsored by Mahou, one of the most famous beer brand companies in Spain. Have you seen these other murals in town, which were painted before Urvanity 2020?
The banalizing of the sacred.
We can observe a rich visual culture in his style. It is a crazy mix of someone who grew up painting exgirlfriends, inspired by classic artists and their representation of the human body.
Mr. Romero also explores the limits of the concept ‘sacred’. Nicolás has realized that whenever you paint something in a great scale, the audience assumes that there has to be something sacred about that representation, otherwise why would it be so big?
NEVER Crew, machines everywhere!
Defining Christian Rebecchi & Pablo Togni’s artworks would include the following themes, opened to a public debate:
- The effects of human attitudes on the environment,
- social injustices and,
- the relationship between the concept and the forms of “systems”,
- an essential, natural, human and animal truth.
Never Crew combines a simple graphic structure with hyperrealistic and formally complex elements, like those represented by animals.
Where could you observe Never’s artwork in Madrid?
It is in Calle Augusto Figueroa, 14 where you’ll be able to photograph this beautiful decoration with a Bear ‘casteller’ (the famous Catalonian human castles).
The artwork would represent living subjects which have a symbolic and evocative value in reference to the relationship with mankind and with the territory.
Zest, visual urban art vocabulary.
Zest in one of the many self-taught street art artists that we have recently observed in our underground tour around Lavapiés district. This one specifically is located next to Madrid’s curry mile.
Enchanted by the endless possibilities and the absence of any real creative bound, Franck Noto merged into abstract art.
My inspirations also come from the fashion and architecture industries.
Zest’s thoughts
What does make Zest special for our underground tour?
Cooltourspain loves to investigate about the artists’ backgrounds and it’s interesting for us to add people to our guided visits who frequently use different resources:
- Mixing paint rollers,
- Posca marker pens,
- brushes, spray paints and,
- projection techniques,
It’s also interesting to observe that the meeting point for the underground tour in Lavapies is located just 450 meters away from this mural. Should we add this artists in our route?
Who does represent Zest as a graffiti artist?
- Galerie Nicolas Xavier – Montpellier (France)
- Kolly Gallery – Zurich (Switzerland)
- At Down Gallery, Montpellier (France)
- Bomma Gallery – Paris (France)
- Bartoux Gallery – several locations around the world.
Gvill3, futuristic cave paintings?
The local representation of all the artists featured within this article comes with Guille. He is an emerging talent represented by La Causa Galería, one of our favourite street art galleries in Madrid.
This former political comic illustrator integrates faces in his creations, as well as encoded messages. We would define Guille as a street art warrior, always fighting for his territory!
Which guided visit covers his street art wall?
The street art Madrid bike tour passes through Calle Almendro, where this mural is currently located. This alternative experience kicks off from Gran Via street, heading towards Malasaña and San Bernardo area. It’ll be the next stop after Plaza Mayor.
Not only you will see Gviiie around La Latina, but also in the following streets:
- Calle Santiago el Verde,
- Calle Ángel,
- Calle de la Fe.
What should we take into account about him?
Now that he has exhibited his artworks at one of the most important urban art fairs in Spain, it should be easier for him to make it to the European circuit, following the steps of his close friend Sabek.
He was also preselected for the GOYA awards, the most important recognition in the Spanish film industry, with his short clip ‘Abayomi’.
Cooltourspain’s opinion about the underground tour
We believe that Urvanity 2020 contemporary art fair was a complete success! We met several local artists & and professional contemporary art workers to discuss about the industry.
Our underground tour around Lavapies during those days were unique, because guests had the opportunity to see the live artwork of renowned artists.
Have you seen these street art walls in Madrid already?
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